The Force have pulled a selection shock for their clash with the Waratahs, opting for Heath Tessman to start at hooker.
Force club captain Tessman was one of the form players in the NRC champion Perth Spirit side last year, but new recruit, Wallabies back up Tatafu Polota-nau was expected to get the starting job.
Polota-nau will sit on the pine on his return to Sydney, forced to wait for his first confrontation with his former teammates.
In a boon for the Force, Test lock Adam Coleman will play his first match after a knee injury, named to start alongside Ross Haylett-Petty.
Coleman hasn't played since twisting his knee against Scotland on the Wallabies Spring Tour.
They'll have a relatively inexperienced back row, with Matt Hodgson (hamstring) and Ben McCalman (thumb) injured.
Highly rated centre combination, Bill Meakes and Curtis Rona, will have their first Super Rugby outing in a Sydney after an impressive preseason.
Force coach Dave Wessels said he was rewarding preseason form in his selections.
“It’s always exciting to actually be able to start the season after a long pre-season, the team have worked very hard," he said.
“What we’ve tried to do is reward the players who we feel have shown the most intensity in their work up until now, so as always there were a few players unlucky to miss out, but we’re very proud of the guys that will represent us this weekend. - Dave Wessels.
TEAM
Force team to take on the Waratahs on Saturday at 7:40pm AEDT at Allianz Stadium.
1 Pek Cowan
2 Heath Tessmann (C)
3 Jermaine Ainsley
4 Ross Haylett-Petty
5 Adam Coleman
6 Brynard Stander
7 Kane Koteka
8 Richard Hardwick
9 Ryan Louwrens
10 Jono Lance
11 Chance Peni
12 Bill Meakes
13 Curtis Rona
14 Luke Morahan
15 Dane Haylett-Petty (VC)
Reserves
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau
17 Ben Daley
18 Tetera Faulkner
19 Matt Philip
20 Isireli Naisarani
21 Michael Ruru
22 Ian Prior
23 Alex Newsome
